Over the years, Florida TaxWatch has been called the gold standard for exposing wasteful spending in state government departments.
This week, they just released their annual “Turkey List” of projects that elected officials have put in the state budget, also known as “local member projects.” The turkey list in Florida is compared to pork barrel spending in Congress.
The FY2024-25 budget is $117.5 billion budget passed by the Florida Legislature. TaxWatch says they have identified 450 budget turkeys totaling worth $854.6 million dollars.
Their report also lists another $912.2 in spending projects they say deserve close scrutiny by the Governor’s office.
The spending on member projects has skyrocketed over the last eight years.
In 2016, Florida TaxWatch estimated approximately 550 projects totaling less than $400 million. The FY2024-25 budget has almost three times as many member projects. The state budget has contained over 1600 local member projects for three years straight, amounting to $2.8 billion.
“This surge calls for a more thorough review and a fair selection process. Our report underscores the importance of using taxpayer money judiciously, advocating for a budget process that prioritizes statewide needs and core government functions,” said TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic Calabro.
While Tallahassee lawmakers will defend this spending on local projects back in their districts, Calabro says these member projects are getting worse. “They need to be limited and reformed,” he said.
The numbers get worse. There are 160 legislators in the Florida House and Senate. This year, each lawmaker secured an average of 10 member projects worth an average of $17.3 million for their home district. State House and Senate membership each requested more than 2,700 projects worth more than $7.2 billion. The $7.5 billion requested by the Senate is an average of $187 million per Senator.
TaxWatch says over the last eight years, almost $12 billion on member projects has been spent.
In 2017, the legislature adopted new rules for greater transparency on spending items. However, considering the rising tide of member projects, that has been ignored.
And this process doesn’t seem to be slowing.
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